The present invention relates to an apparatus for inflating a tire mounted on a rim, and more particularly a reciprocal inflation head having at least two concentric seals selectively moveable with respect to one another to bring at least one seal into sealing engagement with a side wall of tires of different sizes, and alternatively or additionally, a splittable support surface at the tire inflating work station where a portion of the support surface is moveable transversely with respect to a path of travel on a conveyor for allowing transfer of a tire and rim transported by the conveyor to the support surface.
Mounting tubeless tires on wheel rims by automobile manufacturers is normally accomplished by high production devices where a wheel is placed on a conveyor, the tire is preliminary positioned relative to the rim, and the rim and tire are conveyed from station to station. At the various stations, the tire can be soaped, forced over the rim, and mounted intermediate the upper and lower lips of the rim. Optionally, the rim and tire may be rotated relative to each other in accordance with previously applied reference points. The tire is inflated to a predetermined pressure at an inflation work station.
To reduce the duration of time required for inflation, it is known to impose an annular axial force on one of the tire side walls which causes the other tire side wall to seal against a support surface while the deflected side wall bead is displaced from the lip of the rim. An inflation chamber is defined by the support surface and the tire, and compressed air is forced into the tire around the displaced side wall bead. After the desired pressure is achieved in the inflation chamber, the deflected tire side wall is permitted to expand to seat the bead against the corresponding lip of the rim to maintain the inflation pressure. This process permits inflation of the tire to be accomplished in a very short period of time.
An inflation chamber for a high production tire inflation devices includes the interior of the tire, where pressurization of the chamber produces the desired pressure within the tire. To define the inflation chamber, an annular tire side wall seal is normally employed to engage the tire side wall and to displace the bead associated with the side wall from the lip of the rim. Sufficient pressure is applied to seal the opposite tire side wall against the support surface. Pressurizing the chamber drives the bead associated with the opposite tire side wall into engagement with the lip of the rim while the deflected tire side wall maintains an open passage until the pressurization of the inflation chamber is complete. The deflected tire side wall is then permitted to expand to seat the associated bead against the lip of the rim to maintain the inflation pressure.
Alternatively, an annular inflation chamber can be defined to include the interior of the tire, an annular wheel seal employed to engage the rim, and an annular tire side wall seal employed to engage the tire side wall for displacing the side wall with respect to the lip of the rim. In this configuration, no support surface or sealing device is associated with the opposite side of the tire as a seal, since the seal opposite from the displaced side wall is achieved by the engagement of the tire bead with the lip of the rim during the inflation process. Typically, the side wall engaging seal and the wheel rim engaging device are displace able with respect to each other to produce the desired sequence of operation for this type of annular inflation chamber.
Known tire inflation devices typically can handle only a limited variation in tire sizes due to the predetermined diameter of the annular tire side wall seal used to define the inflation chamber and deflect the tire side wall during the inflation process. Most tire inflation devices require the size of the sealing structure for the rim and/or tire side wall to be changed when different sizes of wheel rims and tires are to be inflated. Changeover of the inflation line from one tire size to another is time consuming and expensive. Furthermore, there is often a need to mix tire sizes on an inflation line as required for production purposes.
It is desirable in the present invention to provide a tire inflation apparatus capable of inflating various tire sizes automatically without requiring changeover of the sealing structure. In addition, it is desirable in the present invention to provide a tire inflation apparatus capable of automatically inflating a mix of tire sizes on an inflation line, where large differences may occur between the sizes, so that the present invention can automatically accommodate different rim and tire sizes.
An apparatus for inflating a tire mounted on a rim according to the present invention can include a conveyor for transporting a tire mounted on a rim to a predetermined position at a tire inflating work station. The conveyor can have carrier surfaces spaced laterally with respect to one another along the path of travel for engaging the tire and rim for transport. The carrier surfaces are moveable along the path of travel and moveable vertically between a raised transport position and a lowered transfer position. A support surface at the tire inflating work station is provided. The support surface has at least two portions. The portions include at least one interlocking joint for holding the portions of the support surface in sealing engagement with respect to one another during an inflation process. At least one portion of the support surface is moveable transversely with respect to the path of travel of the conveyor for allowing transfer of the tire and rim transported by the conveyor to the support surface as the conveyor moves between the raised transport position and the lowered transfer position.
An apparatus for inflating a tire mounted on a rim according to the present invention can include a reciprocal inflation head moveable from a first position spaced from the tire to a second position engageable with a side wall of the tire for communicating pressurized fluid to inflate the tire on the rim. The inflation head has at least two concentric seals selectably moveable with respect to one another to bring at least one seal into sealing engagement with a side wall of the tire. Means are provided for moving at least one seal with respect to the other seal for selectively presenting one seal in operable position for engaging a side wall of the tire to be inflated. The appropriate seal is selectively presented to correspond to the tire and rim size to be inflated at the inflating work station.
Other objects, advantages and applications of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following description of the best mode contemplated for practicing the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.